Mega Evolution (Japanese: メガシンカMega Evolution) is a temporary transformation affecting Pokémon that was introduced in Generation VI. Mega-Evolved Pokémon are identified by having "Mega" in front of their name.

There are 46 species of Pokémon that are capable of Mega Evolution, and there are 48 different Mega Evolutions.

In the games

In order to Mega Evolve, most Pokémon must be holding their appropriate Mega Stone and the Trainer must have a Key Stone. Only Rayquaza does not need a Mega Stone to Mega Evolve; instead, it must know the move Dragon Ascent.

In battle

In any battle, each Trainer may Mega Evolve a single Pokémon once. Mega Evolution is essentially a free action a Pokémon may make in addition to its normal move, but if a Pokémon will not use a move, it cannot Mega Evolve. Mega Evolution occurs before most actions except switching. A Mega-Evolved Pokémon will only revert to its original state if it faints or the battle ends; if it is switched out, it will remain Mega Evolved.

A Pokémon cannot Mega Evolve if it is being held in the airborne phase of Sky Drop. Neither volatile nor non-volatile status conditions such as paralysis, sleep, and infatuation will have any effect over a Pokémon's ability to Mega Evolve, even if they result in the Pokémon not being able to move that turn.

Mega Stones are not affected by most moves or Abilities. If they would move a Mega Stone to or from a Pokémon that could use it to Mega Evolve, the moves Bestow, Covet, Fling, Thief, Trick, and Switcheroo will fail and the Abilities Magician, Pickpocket and Symbiosis will not activate. The move Knock Off cannot remove a Mega Stone from a Pokémon that can use it to Mega Evolve, and Knock Off's power will not be increased since it cannot remove the item. The moves Embargo and Magic Room and the Ability Klutz will not prevent a Pokémon from using its respective Mega Stone to Mega Evolve.

Changes in a Pokémon's Ability will take place immediately. A Sharpedo that normally has Speed Boost will not gain a boost in Speed at the end of the turn it Mega Evolves, but if it uses a biting move such as Crunch that turn, it will be boosted by Strong Jaw, its Ability as Mega Sharpedo.

Generation VI

In Generation VI, performing Mega Evolution will not alter the turn order. A Pokémon with a lower Speed than their opponent will still go after them on the one turn the Mega Evolution occurs, even if their Mega Evolution increases Speed and would otherwise cause them to go first. The opposite is also true for Pokémon who lose Speed from Mega Evolution, such as Garchomp. However, turn order will be determined normally on every turn afterwards.

Otherwise, stat changes and type changes due to Mega Evolution take effect immediately and damage calculation proceeds as usual. For example, a Pokémon whose Mega Evolution has a lower base Defense stat takes greater damage from physical moves on the turn it Mega Evolves. Likewise, the move Gyro Ball considers the Pokémon's Speed stat after Mega Evolution for damage calculation, not before.

Likewise, even if a Pokémon only has an Ability such as Prankster before Mega Evolution, appropriate moves will gain priority. If a Pokémon gains Prankster upon Mega Evolution, appropriate moves will not gain priority.

When the player Mega Evolves a Pokémon for the first time since the save file is accessed, a longer animation than usual will play, showing the player activating the Mega Evolution with his or her Mega Bracelet. On subsequent uses of Mega Evolution, a shorter animation will play, showing only the Pokémon as it Mega Evolves.

Generation VII

In Generation VII, a Pokémon's Speed after Mega Evolution is used to determine turn order, not its Speed before. Likewise, if a Pokémon only has an Ability such as Prankster before Mega Evolution, appropriate moves will not gain priority. If a Pokémon gains Prankster upon Mega Evolution, appropriate moves will gain priority.

In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, as the Held item mechanic is not implemented, the player simply needs to have the compatible Mega Stone in their bag to access a Pokémon's Mega Evolution. The player can also manually pick which form Charizard or Mewtwo can become from the move menu.

In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, when summoned by the Eon Flute, LatiosOR or LatiasAS will Mega Evolve before the player mounts it to soar in the sky. It will Mega Evolve even if it is not holding its corresponding Mega Stone, since the Eon Pokémon is summoned even if it is no longer in the player's game.

Effects

A Mega-Evolved Pokémon has different base stats, with the exception of HP, and can have a different Ability and type from its non-Mega-Evolved form. Every Mega-Evolved Pokémon (except for Mega Alakazam in Generation VI) has a base stat total 100 points higher than that of its base form.

In other games

Charizard's, Lucario's, and Mewtwo's Final Smashes Mega Evolve them into Mega Charizard X, Mega Lucario, and Mega Mewtwo Y, respectively. While Lucario and Charizard's Mega Evolutions are used as a temporary power-up, Mewtwo's is used to perform Psystrike.

In addition, every time when Shadow Mewtwo is fought against in the game's story mode, it will Mega Evolve before the battle begins and stay in this state for the entire fight.

On the Dragon's Nest battle stage, Mega Rayquaza appears in the form of both an enormous statue alongside the battle arena and a drawing on the ground of the battle arena. On the Old Ferrum Town (Winter) battle stage, Mega Swampert appears in the form of a giant snow sculpture. Mega Rayquaza itself is also a Support Pokémon available as part of the Pokkén Tournament DX Battle Pack.

The Pokémon placed in the first position (furthest to the left) when selecting Support Pokémon will Mega Evolve after the player fills the Mega Gauge by matching the Pokémon being Mega Evolved or matching Pokémon with the Mega Boost(+) Skills who are of the same type as the Pokémon being Mega Evolved. The size of the Mega Gauge depends on the Pokémon being Mega Evolved, with each Pokémon requiring different numbers of icons to be matched to fill its gauge. The Mega Effects for each Mega form vary between Pokémon, replacing the Pokémon's Skill for the remainder of the battle.

The player gains the ability to Mega Evolve their Pokémon after completing the challenge "Raid of the Mighty General", then receiving the Special Stone Shop and a Mega Key from the rewards section of the ordinary shop. Mega Stones for currently owned Pokémon can be bought and immediately attached to its corresponding Pokémon using the Special Stone Shop. The first Mega Stone of the player's choice is free (unless either the Red or Blue Orb is chosen instead) and every one after it costs 5 Poké Diamonds. During battle, Mega Evolution can performed by tapping the Mega Evolution button using a Pokémon equipped with a Mega Stone in battle. Mega Evolution can be used again on any Pokémon in the same battle, unlike in the main games.

Mega Evolved Pokémon revert after a completed trip, or when they are defeated or switched out. Mega Evolving will send out a shockwave that damages enemy Pokémon. This shockwave is capable of defeating and tipping over opposing Pokémon. Additionally, it also resets any negative status conditions or status changes the Pokémon had before Mega Evolving.

Mega Evolution allows Pokémon to become more powerful, attack multiple enemies, and break down walls. To achieve Mega Evolution, the player must find an Awakening Emera in a Dungeon. These Emeras can be attached to a Looplet of a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve, causing it to Mega Evolve immediately. A Looplet attached with an Awakening emera will have a rainbow glow . Should it be given to Mewtwo or Charizard, their Mega Evolution will be chosen randomly.

A bar will appear above the Mega-Evolved Pokémon after it transforms and will slowly start to fill up. As long as the bar is present, the Mega-Evolved Pokémon will keep their form even when moving to the next floor. Once the bar is filled, the Mega-Evolved Pokémon will go into Berserk mode. In Berserk mode, the Pokémon will move around and use a powerful attack on any Pokémon surrounding it, friend and foe alike. This will go away after a while, and the Pokémon will revert to normal. When Mega Evolved, its regular attack will get a huge boost in power and range, destroy walls, and reveal purple sparkling spots on the floor which can be picked up for an item.

Attaching an Awakening Emera to a Pokémon that cannot Mega Evolve increases its stats by a lot and give it different boosts. Pokémon that cannot Mega Evolve with an Awakening Emera attached will not go into Berserk mode.

Awakening Emeras are hard to find and appear randomly in dungeons; like other Emeras, they will disappear if they are not reached in time.

Once a player purchases a Mega Pencil from Professor Tetra for 500 Picrites, puzzles for Mega Evolutions can be solved. Furthermore, murals can be solved one tile at a time to display Groudon and Kyogre's Primal Reversions.

Only one Mega Evolution can be set at one time, and they cannot be brought alongside their normal forms. Their skills are higher ranked than their normal counterpart, and they can be used on larger puzzles.

In the TCG

Mega Evolution is featured in the Pokémon Trading Card Game as Pokémon. They were added as a new mechanic to the game in the XY expansion as an evolution of Pokémon-EX cards. Mega Evolving a Pokémon immediately ends a player's turn.

Pokémon tend to have much higher HP and more powerful attacks than regular Pokémon. Currently, all of them have exactly one attack. Uniquely, the artwork of Pokémon feature their attack's name printed in a stylized design on the card as part of the artwork itself. This name is displayed in Japanese, except for Japanese and Korean cards where the name is displayed in English. (Some special Japanese UR variant cards keep the name printed in Japanese instead of English.)

Like all Pokémon, a player who defeats a Pokémon takes two Prize Cards instead of one.

Related cardsCards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.

In the anime

In the main series

The first Mega Evolution in the anime was featured in Mewtwo — Prologue to Awakening, where Mewtwo was shown to be capable of changing between its regular form and Mega Mewtwo Y form, in which its speed was dramatically boosted, being capable of moving faster than the blink of an eye. The same Mewtwo also played a major role in Genesect and the Legend Awakened, once again demonstrating its Mega Evolution capabilities. Unlike in the games, this Mewtwo seemed to be capable of Mega Evolving without the use of a Mega Stone. However, upon its original appearance, the concept of Mega Evolution had not yet been revealed, so the form did not yet have a name.

In the Pokémon - The Legend of the Dragon King manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Mega Evolution was first presented in the Pokémon Adventures manga in the X & Y chapter. At first, it was portrayed as a relatively unknown phenomenon, known only to Gurkinn and his Successors. Since then, it became apparent that Team Flare were also after the power of Mega Evolution, with one member even compiling a list of Mega Stones that they discovered. Simultaneous Mega Evolutions can also be accomplished by a Trainer, as long as they have a Key Stone for each Pokémon they are Mega Evolving. However, doing so will cause severe mental stress on the Trainer, and they will be unable to focus on anything other than a single target until the Mega Evolution is undone.

During a battle against Team Flare, Gurkinn's Gengar protected X from Celosia's Aegislash. It helped battle against Team Flare to stop them from capturing Xerneas while in tree form. It was later given it to X, at which point he nicknamed it Garma. Garma has a Gengarite, which allows X to Mega Evolve it into Mega Gengar.

While confronting Essentia, X's Rute and Y's Solsol are given their respective Mega Stones, allowing them to Mega Evolve into Mega Pinsir and Mega Absol respectively.

In Omega Alpha Adventure 20, Giovanni Mega Evolved his Beedrill as part of his explanation that the meteoroid headed for Hoenn may be housing a Pokémon inside of it, since Mega Evolution is only supposed to work within a battle. Later, Sapphire and Ruby Mega Evolved Kirly and Rara into Mega Gallade and Mega Gardevoir respectively during a brief battle against each other.

In addition, Mega Mewtwo Y has the highest base Special Attack of all Pokémon at 194, and Mega Mewtwo X has the highest base Attack of all Pokémon at 190. Mega Mewtwo X also has the highest base stat increase of all Mega Evolutions, its Attack stat being boosted by 80 upon the process.

Aggron is the only dual-type Pokémon to become single-type upon Mega Evolving, going from Steel/Rock-type to pure Steel-type.

The only Pokémon with multiple Mega Evolutions are Charizard and Mewtwo, which each have two. In both cases, the first ones to be revealed were the Y versions.

In addition, both of their Y Mega Evolutions kept their original type, while both of their X Mega Evolutions changed their type.

Also, in both cases, the X Mega Evolution is more physically-oriented (with a higher Attack and/or Defense), while the Y Mega Evolution is more specially-oriented (with a higher Special Attack and/or Special Defense).

Rayquaza is the only Pokémon that does not require a Mega Stone to Mega Evolve in the core series games, instead being required to know Dragon Ascent.

This makes Rayquaza the only Pokémon that can have a different held item while Mega Evolved, since Mega Stones cannot be taken off their proper holder during battle.

In Pokémon Shuffle Rayquaza needs the player to get the Meteorite for it to Mega Evolve.

Mega Latias and Mega Latios are programmed into Pokémon X and Y; as a result, they are not banned by the Kalos rules from battles, and their Mega Stones are not banned from trades between Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire and X or Y, despite being otherwise unavailable in those games.

The Japanese and Korean logos for Pokémon X and Y include the Mega Evolution sigil.

In the Pokémon X and Y demo, the message "An immense rare power has risen in Mewtwo" would be displayed before Mega Evolving. In the final game, the message displayed is "<Pokémon>'s <Mega Stone> is reacting to <Trainer>'s <Key Stone item>!" Additionally, Mega Mewtwo Y is referred to as simply Mega Mewtwo.